Make Great Photos at Home

Learn how to make great photos out of the simplest of elements available in the place closest to you—your home. From your window garden to the gas stove, did you know that you could find hundreds of photographs within the confines of your house, without even stepping outside?

Small, Quirky Objects
When we are so accustomed to our surroundings, we often ignore the smaller details around us. However, interesting and quirky items around the house can make for really interesting photographs.

Often ignored everyday details can become great pictures. Photograph/Julian Spencer.

Rusty hinges, door knobs, patterns on the carpet, peeling wallpaper, interesting china and crockery can all act as subjects for your photographs. Try photographing them at different angles and even experiment with the camera’s Macro mode for added depth to your photos. When light falls through your bedroom window, you can even try shooting the interesting shades and patterns it forms.

A Black and White Approach
Shooting in B&W around your home can add a lot of edginess to your images. Play with light and shadows—try keeping your subject half illuminated, half in the dark. Experiment with graininess by increasing the ISO and you could end up with an interesting and stark image. You could even use the everyday articles around your kitchen or bathroom as subjects, and come back with beautiful, contrasty images.

Indoor Blooms
If you have a garden at home or flower pots around the window sill, you have a ready subject for photographic experiments. Once you find the light source, get close to the subject and begin shooting. Play with aperture settings for different effects; a narrow aperture will keep the entire frame in focus, while a wide aperture will blur the background.

Blooming flowers are perfect subjects for photography at home. Photograph/Brijesh Bolar.

You can even get pleasing bokeh effects around the flowers by opening the camera to the widest aperture. Also, you might even spot some insects around and they can add an interesting element to the photograph.

Window Light Portraits
Your home is a perfect location to explore this genre of photography. The subjects will have a more relaxed disposition because they are being photographed in a home. This will allow you to shoot interesting and candid portraits. You can experiment with the Portrait mode on your camera, which will automatically choose the widest aperture, thereby making your subject the centre of attention. Also remember to shoot your subjects near a window as the natural light could frame their features very beautifully.

This article originally appeared in the June 2014 issue of Better Photography.

Light streaming from your windows can form beautiful patterns for you to shoot. Photograph/Leandro Ercole.